The Wild Bunch (1969) on Netflix
R19692h 25mActionAdventureWestern
South Texas, 1913. Pike Bishop's aging outlaw gang, disguised as cavalrymen, plans one last robbery at a railroad payroll office. Bounty hunters wait, led by the paroled Deke Thornton.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.9/1094,785 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes91%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1913 South Texas, Pike Bishop leads a gang of aging outlaws dressed as a U.S. Cavalry troop. They plan one last robbery, taking silver from the railroad's payroll office, hoping to retire afterward. Railroad agent Pat Harrigan learns of the plan and hires bounty hunters, and Pike's former partner Deke Thornton is paroled to lead them. Pike escapes with Dutch Engstrom, Lyle and Tector Gorch and Angel, and they head into Mexico, joined by Freddie Sykes.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Wild Bunch (1969)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Director Sam Peckinpah was so unhappy with the fake gunfire effects his crew brought him that he grabbed a real revolver, fired it into a wall, and told the stunned crew that was the sound he wanted.
- For the major shootouts, Peckinpah filmed with six cameras running at different speeds at once, from 24 up to 120 frames per second, so the footage could be cut between slow and fast motion.
- Lee Marvin actually accepted the role but pulled out of The Wild Bunch after he was offered more money to star in Paint Your Wagon, the 1969 musical.
- When Warner Bros. resubmitted the originally R-rated film to the MPAA in 1993 ahead of a planned re-release, it was unexpectedly re-rated NC-17, even though the ten extra minutes added back in contained no new graphic violence.
- Peckinpah first offered the part to German actor Mario Adorf, who had appeared in Major Dundee, but Adorf turned it down because he was uncomfortable playing such a violent character, a decision he regretted after seeing the finished film.
- After initial cuts the opening gunfight sequence ran 21 minutes; by cutting frames from specific scenes and intercutting others, the opening robbery was fine-cut all the way down to five minutes.
- Stage actor Albert Dekker, who played railroad detective Harrigan, died only months after finishing his scenes, making The Wild Bunch his final film.
